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Consider replication using IBM i and the build in DB2 journaling which is an operating system feature. Replicate with the iTERA or MiMiX software. It's incredibly scalable, and a true mainframe architecture.

IBM has a thing where they like to rename the freaking system too many times. I used to be an AS/400 .. iSeries .. System i .. IBM i ... whatever administrator running OS400 or i5/OS ... V5R3 ... V5R4 .. V6R1 ... V7R1 , Here's a picture of a bigger system at a casino corporation in Chicago. We ran one here, and one in Kansas City MO, and both systems I upgraded from a power 5+ processor to a power 6. They would, one at a time, run 10 casinos concurrently.

MS SSIS is to Windows/Server/Vista/XP -- as -- IBM DBMOTO is to IBM i/iSeries/System i
MS SQL is to Windows/Server/Vista/XP -- as -- IBM DB2 is to IBM i/iSeries/System i

That help clarify a bit? Oracle can run on many differing types of DB's, including MS SQL, IBM DB2, and MySQL, but I couldn't find anywhere where it speaks to the architecture underlying. There c;an be many OS variations underneath everything by MS SQL, which has to be Windows.

I'm saying in terms of scalability and performance, you can't do better with IBM i . DBMOTO runs on the IBM i, and nothing else I saw runs on that. I think the best way to describe it is that if you had a server sitting in a rack, do you need a monitor? Every single intel processor is designed for and integrates graphic performance into the architecture. IBM i and the Power processor is a great architecture, and the power processor was even dropped by Apple because of that exact same reason.

I'm saying that when the chip itself is built from Intel (Xeon, Core i Series chips) or Motorola (PowerPC processors including CISC and RISC), there is a graphics processor built into the chip itself with Intel, and it is designed to work with graphics. The PowerPC processor is not. Adobe Flash and visual effects were terrible with Apple, and the processors couldn't handle it. That's why they went to Intel chips. If i'm building a server for scalability and power, I would use the system that's designed to be scalable and a true server architecture. When they went from 32, to 48 ,to 64 bits in the PowerPC processor line, none of the applications on the IBM i needed to be recompiled to take advantage. Have a look...

Apple and Adobe went back and forth with Adobe saying use better hardware to support our systems, and Apple saying fix your code to run on what we have. Eventually Apple rolled over and pushed their code onto Intel's architecture around 10.5 with 10.6 still having legacy PowerPC binaries, but everything 10.6+ is all Intel support only. It's what I'm running as I write this, and honestly Apple strong arms companies into what they want, but then again thier name is on the line, and they are giving the guarantee it'll work, not the developers and companies who make the software. You can't call Microsoft if your Dell isn't working.

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Yes, it scales very well. It uses what's called a TIMI, or Technology Independent Machine Interface, which abstracts the compiled machine language with the hardware. It's a copy and paste onto new architectures, and it just works. You typically use a HMC to manage LPARs and up to 200+ servers with a single linux 1U server that's a custom Java app IBM makes. It's how you would terminal into the system, and even though they're not cheap... (least expensive being between 5-15k) they're more than worth it. They have higher uptime, the journaled IBM DB2 operating system, increased security, and the only thing bigger is the IBM mainframes Z series systems. They're on the same hardware as the P series now as well, which means if you buy an AIX/UNIX system from IBM, it comes on the IBM i hardware.

Here's the midrange specs I ran 10 casinos on, which was the 520 (not the express) which we did an in place upgrade to a 575...